 |
|
|
At the meeting of the Rushden Urban District Council on Wednesday, Mr. T. Swindall, who has occupied the vice-chair during the past twelve months was unanimously elected chairman for the coming year, and, while we congratulate Councillor Swindall on the honour conferred upon him, we may safely congratulate the Council also and the town in general. During the past year Councillor J. S. Clipson has ably carried out the duties of chairman of the Council, and we are sure the position will be worthily filled in the ensuing year by his successor. A native of Northampton, Mr. Swindall has resided at Rushden ever since the year 1886, and he has occupied an important place in the life of the town in at least three departments – as a member of the Rushden Urban Council, as president of the Rushden Permanent Allotment and Small Holdings Society, Ltd., and as superintendent of the Rushden Division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade. In his business as a builder, contractor, and coal merchant he is well known, and he was formerly an active member of the Rushden Lodge of Good Templars, being some years ago elected to the office of Chief Templar, but of recent years he has not been able to spare a great deal of time to give to that movement, though he is, of course, a convinced Good Templar in principle. He is a member of the Rushden Liberal Association. Some years ago he was a deacon of the Congregational Church at Rushden, and he is now a member of the Independent Wesleyan Church and has a seat on the Leaders Meeting in connection with that place of worship.
Mr. Swindall first entered the Urban Council in the year 1897, one third of the members at that period retiring annually, and on one occasion he headed the poll. In April 1902 he was elected vice-chairman of the Council, and he was re-elected to the vice-chair in the following year. In 1906-7 he was appointed chairman, and he carried out the duties of that office to the complete satisfaction of the Council and of the town at large. The year of his chairmanship witnessed the opening of the new waterworks and also the opening of the Council Buildings, Mr. Swindall being the first gentleman to preside over a Council meeting in the new “Town Hall,” as it really is, and commemorating the formal opening by giving a banquet – on, as might be expected, teetotal lines. During the past twelve months Mr. Swindall has been chairman of the Health and Sanitary Committee of the Urban Council, and for the last nine years he has served on the Finance Committee. He has also been the chairman of the local branch of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Families Association. As a Councillor he has been very regular in attending the meetings, and his re-election from time to time is sufficient evidence of the fact that his work on the local governing body has been appreciated by the ratepayers as a whole.
About the year 1890 Mr. Swindall entered the Ambulance movement, which has since claimed a large share of his time and ability. Joining as a private, he was made First Officer in 1898, and when in 1900 Mr. Arthur Cave resigned the position of Superintendent of the Rushden Division Mr. Swindall was elected to that responsible and honourable office. Mr. Swindall’s efficient work and many services have been recognised by those in authority in the Ambulance movement, and in 191? he was awarded the long service medal. A still greater honour was conferred upon him in 1914, when he received the distinction of Hon. Serving Brother of the Grand Priory of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem in England. During his connection with the Ambulance movement he was one of the prime movers in the effort for providing head-quarters for the Rushden Division, the cost of which was about £220. The debt on the building has been gradually reduced, and will doubtless soon be entirely liquidated. His activities in securing those headquarters, with his long and active services in the movement, doubtless had much to do with the distinction of Hon. Serving Brother being conferred upon him. It is interesting to recall the fact that on June 22nd, 1912, Supt. Swindall was present at the Ambulance review in Windsor Park by King George V.
Mr. Swindall’s work in connection with the Rushden Allotment and Small Holdings Society has been noteworthy. That society was started about the year 1892. Mr. Swindall joined the association in the following year and twelve months afterwards he was elected president, a position he has since held without a break. Difficulties of a financial character in connection with the society developed some years ago, but, largely owing to the president’s energetic labours, these difficulties were speedily surmounted, and the society is now one of the soundest and most flourishing of any in this part of the country. The membership has now reached the gratifying total of 674, which is higher than it has been before, and the land at present under cultivation in connection with the society is just over two hundred acres, about three-fourths of that amount being rented by the association, while about one-quarter of it has been purchased by the organisation. There are, of course, other lines on which Mr. Swindall has served the town, but the organisations we have named have been the outstanding features of his public life and work. We trust that during his chairmanship, which carries with it the office of Magistrate, he will have health and strength to carry out the work in a manner which will satisfy Mr. Swindall himself, and then, we are confident, his colleagues on the Council and the residents of Rushden at large, will be abundantly satisfied.
|
